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An absentee ballot is a vote that is submitted before an election by a voter who is not able to be present when the election occurs.[1] Most of the time this is either by mail or over the Internet. All states allow for some form of absentee balloting, but not all states require a reason to vote absentee and allow anyone to vote absentee.

Methods

Numerous methods have been devised to facilitate absentee voting, including postal voting, proxy voting and online voting. Increasing the ease of access to absentee ballots are seen by many as one way to improve voter turnout, though some states require that a valid reason be given in order to vote absentee.